Revenue-loss charges are made for political gains: Manoj Sinha

The new telecom minister Manoj Sinha has his hands full, taking the additional responsibility at a time when the biggest ever spectrum auctions are round the corner. It is after a gap of two decades that the telecom department has been handed over to a minister of state (MoS) with independent charge; the last time this happened was with Beni Prasad Verma in 1996-98. Sinha, an IIT-BHU alum who is also minister of state for railways, has earned the reputation of a man who means business. In an exclusive interview with Prerna Katiyar, the three-time MP from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, speaks on the key issues that the telecom sector faces. Edited excerpts:

On his priorities in telecom sectorThe telecom sector is full of potential. Connectivity can contribute a lot for the development of the country. Since the sector has been opened up (for investment) we have come a long way. Tele-density has risen to new levels. But there is a lot more to do. We need to go beyond just increasing connectivity. I believe education, health and other amenities can be improved via this sector for the common man. But there are challenges as well, like dropped calls. The spectrum auctions are about to happen on a large scale. Since the BJP came to power, the people feel the auctions will happen in a transparent way. We will work to keep up with the expectations. After the auctions, people will notice a substantial improvement on the call drop issue as well. In four to five months, palpable changes will be there. We will try to get the formalities done at the earliest for the auctions to take place in a fair manner.

On the impending spectrum auctionsBy the end of September, we are expected to achieve big headway on spectrum auctions in a transparent way and will raise at least Rs 5.66 lakh crore.

On recent CAG findings that show that revenues worth Rs 46,000 crore were under-reported by six telecom playersThe issue pertains to the Congress era. Those who are making such allegations know why they are making such charges. Such statements are being made for political gains. If I resort to a local saying, it is akin to ulta chor kotval ko daate (the guilty blaming the cop). The nation knows which government was at the helm from 2007 to 2010; the nation also knows that the revenue losses pertain to the same period. The CAG report explicitly says that the revenue losses are to the tune of roughly Rs 12,500 crore, including licence fee and user changes of more than Rs 5,000 crore while the interest charges of Rs 7,000 crore are there. Even the CAG knows that the revenue losses pertain to the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government. There have been no revenue loss since the time the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government has been formed.

On whether he will take steps to recover the lossesThere’s no denying that it is a loss of revenue for the nation. And we will follow the course of law to recover the losses in a definite time from the concerned parties without any discrimination or favouritism.

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Several people ET spoke with about Ericsson’s India operations, including its current and former employees, said the Stockholm-based firm has reduced headcount in the last one year or so across functions, in line with its global restructuring.

Several people ET spoke with about Ericsson’s India operations, including its current and former employees, said the Stockholm-based firm has reduced headcount in the last one year or so across functions, in line with its global restructuring.